NextGen: Strategy to task

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Young Professionals In Foreign Policy

Strategy to TaskThe “Theory of Change” Concept for

Setting Organizational Goals and

Achieving Them

Joshua Marcuse

@joshuamarcuse

[email protected]

7.26.13

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why are we here?Why do we care about strategy?

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IMPACTbut how?

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HOW

do I translate a vision into concrete tasks?

do I know where to focus?

do I allocate resources – time and money?

do I measure progress?

do I motivate people?

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στρατηγίαSTRATEGYStrategy was lifted from the military arts and is now

applied to everything

στρατηγία,,:: Ancient Greek, pronounced strategia,

translates to “office of general, command, generalship”

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And when I say, everything, I mean everything…

Today, we are focused on

organizational strategy,

and one particular approach,

the Theory of Change

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But first, who am I, and why should you listen to me?

I am NOT an expert.

I am a practitioner. I am a peer.

I’ve had some relevant experience to draw from:

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What are we going to discuss from 2 – 3 pm today?

Introduce the Theory of Change model of strategy

Understand how to break a vision down into

tangible goals and projects

Q&A: Discuss strategy in the real world

Learn to apply this model to current and future

work so it can help you get stuff done

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What is strategy?

There are dozens of definitions of strategy

What can we all agree a strategy is?

- It is a pattern of decisions and actions intended to cause a result

- It is not a to-do list

The best approaches to modern strategy combine

10 elements in 4 categories (4C)

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4 C’s of a good strategy

concept context CoA choices

(Courses of Action)

What steps are

you going to take?

What is the

situation?

What decisions are you going to

make about how

to do it?

What needs to be done and why?

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10 components of the 4 C’s of strategy

concept context CoA choices

(Courses of Action)

Mission

Vision

Metrics

Activities

GoalsOutcomes

Outputs

SWOT

Situation: 6W

Timing

Resources

Priorities

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why start with a theory?

Your worldview is what differentiates strategy from action-planning

Strategy is not a to-do list

Your worldview is based on your theory of how the world works

Your theory of how and whychange happens

your

Theory of Change

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Your worldview is the synthesis that connects

your interpretation of the past

to create

with your

change in the world you seek to create.

vision of the future

a compelling narrative

That is a Theory of Change

of the

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What does a Theory of Change look like in action?

Actions Outputs Outcomes Goals Mission Vision

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strategy begins with the right concept

Mission

Vision

concept

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What is your Mission and Vision?

Vision

What is the change that you want to see in the world?

What is the impact you want to have?

What will your organization do to accomplish this vision?

What will you be to achieve this?

Mission

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Mission

Vision

concept

SWOT

Situation

context

Vision… check!

Mission…check!

Now what?

Assess the context

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Establish the situation by looking outward

Situation: 6W• Who has formal authority?

• Who has informal authority?

• Who controls resources?

• Who are the stakeholders?

• What does each

stakeholder want to see?

• What do they want to

avoid?

• Who wants me to

succeed? Who doesn’t?

• What is the history of this?

• How much time do I have?

who

what

when

where

how

why

Ask questions like:

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Then look inward, with a SWOT analysis

Strengths Weaknesses

ThreatsOpportunities

S

TO

W

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time to start planning and doing

Mission

Vision

SWOT

Situation

CoA

Activities

Goals

Metrics

concept context

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Mission

What conditions need to be present to achieve these goal? Be SPECIFIC!

What outcomes are needed for the mission to succeed?

Goal Definition

Outcome Identification

For the mission to be successful, what has to happen?

…obstacles to overcome… changes to make… stuff to create…

How are we going to make those things happen?

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What concrete, measurable results do I need to produce?

Be TANGIBLE!

You must maintain alignment between vision and action

MissionGoals

Outcomes

Output Identification

Activities

How will I produce these results? Be SMART about it

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Be SMART about it?

Specific

Measurable

Accountable

Realistic

Time-defined

Motivational

Attainable

Assignable

Achievable

Resourced

Relevant

Tangible

Goals should be…

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And, while we’re at it, make it a little RACI…

Responsible Accountable

InformedConsulted

I

AR

C

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Vision

How do we put it all together?

Actions

Goal

Outputs

Outcomes

Mission

Out-comes

Out-puts

Actions

Out-comes

Out-puts

Actions

Out-comes

Out-puts

Actions

Out-comes

Out-puts

Actions

Out-comes

Out-puts

Actions

Out-comes

Out-puts

Actions

Goal 1 Goal 32

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Outputs are the tangible, concrete

results of your actions. This is what

your organization delivers.

The production of output requires the consumption of resources.

Strategies often fail because

output and outcome aren’t linked.

Look for hidden “outputs” like

overhead or low-return outputs that

suck time and resources.

Outputs must be measurable and

well-defined.

Outcomes are the impacts (or

changes in the world) that are

required to fulfill your mission.

Often inspiring and aspirational,

they serve as critical touchpoints to

your goals.

Ask, “What conditions need to be

present for me to be successful in

my mission?” The answer points you

to the outcomes (or end-states)

you need to achieve.

They do not need to be

measurable.

vs.outcome output

qualitative quantitative

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Metrics deserve their own discussion in another

session. They are very important, but really tricky.

To begin, focus on measuring four things:

Be skeptical about metrics, but be even more

skeptical about the absence of metrics

you manage only what you measure

Inputs Outputs

Hours Dollars

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now that you know what to do, focus on

EXECUTION… how to do it

Mission

Vision

SWOT

Situation

CoA

Activities

Goals

Metrics

concept context Choice

Resources

Priorities

Timing

Execution requires choices:

prioritization,

resource allocation,

and sequencing

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Strategy without execution is a waste of time

What separates high performing organizations from the rest

is rarely strategy. It is usually execution.

Execution is about choices. No organization has infinite

resources to implement a strategy, so ultimately, execution

is about making three choices:

– Prioritization

– Money

– Time

To make these decisions strategically, go back to your

Theory of Change and trace the impact back to your

mission.

investments

How important?

How much money?

How much time?

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Vision

The advantage of the Theory of Change model is it informs mission-risk based choices about priority, money, and time

Actions

Goal 2

Outputs

Outcomes

Mission

Out-comes

Out-puts

Actions

Out-comes

Out-puts

Actions

Out-comes

Out-puts

Actions

Out-comes

Out-puts

Actions

Out-comes

Out-puts

Actions

Out-comes

Out-puts

Actions

Goal 1 Goal 3

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10 components of the 4 C’s of strategy

context choices

(Courses of Action)

concept

Mission

Vision

CoA

Metrics

Activities

Goals

Outcomes

Outputs

SWOT

Situation: 6W

Timing

Resources

Priorities

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A Theory of Change delivers 5 benefits

Aligns strategy to task, drives execution in pursuit of vision

Provides a framework to measure progress towards

achieving vision, mission, and goals

Enables an organization to rally around a common purpose

and trace line-of-sight for every activity and person

Informs strategic decisions on priorities, time, and resources

Helps an organization to communicate its goals and

approach in clear and compelling narrative

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questions?

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Theory of Change Worksheet

Outcome

Activities

Outputs

Mission

Vision

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YPFP’s mission is to foster the next generation of foreign

policy leaders by providing young professionals with the

knowledge, skills, exposure, and relationships to tackle

critical global challenges over the course of their careers.

Staff Retreat

Vision

(What) Audience

(Who)4 Pillars

(How)

Impact

(Why)Timeline

(When)

Young Professionals in Foreign Policy as a case study

NextGen: Strategy to task

Career

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